Mother Hubbard
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈmʌðər ˈhʌbərd/
- Archaic
:
vestido de Madre Hubbard
- This is Mother Hubbard.
Examples
-
She wore a Mother Hubbard dress that was comfortable and easy to move in.
-
On chilly days, she preferred her cozy Mother Hubbard to stay warm at home.
-
The brightly patterned Mother Hubbard made her feel relaxed and stylish.
Synonyms
7
7.8
A loose, brightly colored Hawaiian dress worn for comfort and informal events
5
6.6
A loose, straight dress that hangs from the shoulders without a fitted waist
Surface Forms
Morphology
Mother + Hubbard
This is an eponymous, lexicalized name for a style of dress whose meaning cannot be inferred from the constituents. 'Mother' (a female parent/title) and 'Hubbard' (a surname/proper name, here opaque) give no semantic cues to 'a loose, unbelted dress', so a B1 learner who knows the parts would not predict the clothing sense without prior exposure or cultural knowledge.
Etymology
Mother Hubbard comes from the old children's rhyme 'Old Mother Hubbard'. Because the story shows a plain old woman, people used her name for a simple, loose dress worn at home, so Mother Hubbard now means a high-necked, unbelted dress that falls straight from the shoulders.